The artful resume - University of Pennsylvania artful resume Dr. Joseph Barber [email protected] 1...

4/18/2014

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The artful resume Dr. Joseph Barber [email protected]

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PLEASE NOTE:

This is an abridged version of the Artful Resume workshop that has been shortened and formatted for use as a handout. If you did not attend this program, but are

interested in the full content, then we look forward to seeing you the next time it is presented.

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The artful resume

A resume that paints a clear, concise, and compelling picture in the mind of the reader about what you can do, and how you do it

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University of Pennsylvania

Please do not copy or distribute without permission

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What we’ll cover

• How information is transferred and processed with submitted resumes (& during the interview process)

• Areas of miscommunication and misinterpretation in resume writing and reading

• How and why different people see the same types of information sometimes very differently

• How to verbalize and illustrate with more clarity the skills, experience, and knowledge you want to share

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YOU EMPLOYER

Are you communicating effectively?

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

• Your descriptions do not match what you actually did • You are describing tasks not skills • You are assuming a common knowledge of experience • Your language is problematic (unclear, jargon, too specific)

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

• Your statements are misinterpreted • The reader pictures something different than you do • There is no shared contextual experience • The reader does not understand what is written

RESUME

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YOU EMPLOYER

INTERVIEW

Still opportunities for miscommunication and misinterpretation

Direct communication provides ability to address the issue

There is feedback

FEEDBACK

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YOU EMPLOYER

I identified and creatively solved a longstanding scientific problem!

Real-time tailoring of language/examples used to promote understanding

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R

E

S

U

M

E

S

INTERPRETING YOUR

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YOU

“Assisted in 2 conferences”

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YOU


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YOU


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EMPLOYER

Assisted in 2 conferences


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#1 • Employers only have what you write • Employers cannot fill in any of the gaps • Employers cannot imagine you doing

anything you haven’t mentioned

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What employers are looking for

• Someone who can do the job

• Someone who understands their unique needs

• Someone who can speak the language

• Someone who fits

• Someone who can communicate

• Relevant keywords

• An excuse to put your application in the “no” pile

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What employers are looking for

• Someone who can do the job

• Someone who understands their unique needs

• Someone who can speak the language

• Someone who fits

• Someone who can communicate

• Relevant keywords

• An excuse to put your application in the “no” pile

And also…

• A way to interpret your experiences and skills using their own experiences and perspectives

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#2 • People often see the same type of

information differently • People understand what they see/read

using their personal and professional experiences

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WHY

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YOUR BRAIN

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbKw0_v2clo

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbKw0_v2clo

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Challenges to overcome

1. Miscommunication based on personal experiences and perspectives of the reader/observer

2. The brain’s ability to interpret the same information differently, incorrectly, or creatively

3. The difficulty accurately describing what you do

SOLUTIONS:

• Understanding our internal perspectives better

• Managing visual perceptions to focus on what is actually there so others can see exactly what you see

• Effectively communicating what we see/do

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COMMUNICATING WHAT YOU SEE to communicate what you do

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Similar v. Different

• About:

– Two separate internships

– Research projects

– Collaborations

– Research techniques

– Volunteer experiences

– Your role in teams

– PhD v. postdoc

– Classes you have taught

• Each different experience can be used to describe different skills and experiences – not the same

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Think about context

• Context includes

– Where things are in space

– When events occur in time

– What the general environment involves

– Information needed to imagine oneself there in time and space

• No context

– Developed and planned student programs

– Collaborated with team as part of a student project

– Presented paper at conference

– Identified problem with research approach and communicated findings to supervisor

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Real-world resume challenge

The challenge you face is making the picture that someone draws of you in their mind, after having read

your resume, be the one you want them to have

RESUME = NOT

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DESCRIBING YOURSELF

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Self-portraits

• Objective form and features that can still be described and interpreted differently

– A different vision for different environments or moods

– Certain key aspects often remain much the same

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Abstractism to realism

• Can we use the same approach for our skills and experiences?

– Do we have core elements that stay the same and aspects that can change depending on how we want to present ourselves?

– Are there different ways to look at your skills depending on context?

– Can you use different language to help your experiences seem relevant to others who have different perspectives?

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Skill self portraits

• What do you see when you look at yourself/your work

– Not feel

– Not think

• What skills do you see when you think about yourself and your experiences?

• How can you illustrate your:

– Leadership

– Communication

– Creativity

– Initiative

Others do not have access to these inner states, and won’t be able to share these experiences

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– Team work

– Problem solving

– Project management

– Strategic thinking



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YOU

Minimizing confusion by painting a clear picture of your skills in action

Being clear, specific, illustrative, and relevant 31

Matching skills and job requirements

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Avoid the generic

Job ad states You state Problem…

Effective communication

I’m a great communicator

Does this illustrate communication?

Team player I’ve worked in several teams

With who, why, how, to what end?

Ability to problem solve

I encountered many problems with research and addressed them

What is your problem-solving approach?

Leadership I have been co-chair of this organization

What do you mean by leadership?

Passionate I am passionate about helping people

Can you help others experience this?

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1 = leadership; 2 = teamwork; 3 = problem-solving; 4 = communication; 5 = analysis

1 1 1 1

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1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1

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1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

2 2 2

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2 2 2 2

2 2

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2 2

4 4

3 3 3 3

3 3

3 3 3 3 3

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5 5 5

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5 5

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1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

1 1 1 1

1

1 1

1 1 1 1 1

1 1

2 2 2

2 2

2 2 2 2

2 2 2

2

2 2 2 2

2 2

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3 3 3 3

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3 3 3 3 3

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5 5

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Generic, unspecific description of skill

Pros: Using keywords from the job ad

Cons: Using same keywords as many other applicants




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Illustration of skill in action, and unique to you


Words to avoid when being descriptive

• Assist

• Participate

• Attend

• Responsible for

• Duties include

• Helped

• Taught

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Assisted in…

• Assisted in program planning and implementation

– Planned and implemented 3 neighbourhood public outreach projects by assisting the program manager in all aspects of project development.

• Assisted professor in book research

– Completed review of 170 journal papers on inflammatory disease mechanisms, and communicated a summary of findings to professor within two weeks

• Assisted executive director for two months

– Assisted executive director by scheduling appointments and updating contact list of donors.

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Participated in…

• Participated in training for website management

– Gained hands-on knowledge of content management system by participating on online training courses

• Participated in student team project

– Coordinated team member work schedules and task as part of a 5-member student team project developing a new planning report

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Attended…

• Attended two conferences

– Sought out subject matter experts at conference, resulting in one on-going international research collaboration

– Networked with researchers from engineering, biomedical, and social science disciplines to explore future research goals

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Always relevant skills

• Leadership

• Teamwork

• Communication

• Problem-solving

• Project management

• Quick learning

• These cannot just be listed as fact

– Facts = PowerPoint, Word, SPSS, arcGIS, Spanish, Mandarin

– Skills need to be illustrated with the right “doing” words and enough context to make it all make sense

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LEADERSHIP What are commonalities of leadership experiences

Strategic vision, effective communication, goals and outcomes, identifying expertise in others, getting people motivated

What are leadership experiences?

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PROBLEM-SOLVING

• Seeing the problem first

• Developing creative solutions individually or as a team

• Utilizing resources (knowledge, equipment, people)

• Problems:

– Department

– Lab work

– Research

– People issues

– Committees

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RESOURCES

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guides

RESOURCES

CV

resume

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/writtenmaterials/

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samples

guides

RESOURCES

CV

resume academic

industry

consulting

Non-profit

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradstud/resumesamples.php

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradstud/cvsamples.php

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samples

guides

online subscriptions

RESOURCES

CV

resume academic

industry

consulting

Wetfeet

Vault

Versatile PhD

www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/library/

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Non-profit

samples

guides

online subscriptions

critiques RESOURCES

CV

resume academic

industry

consulting

Wetfeet

Vault

Versatile PhD

Walk-ins

30-min appointments

Call 215 898 7530 50

Non-profit

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www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices



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